Apocalypse Now!

The film Apocalypse Now, while famous for its cast--particularly of Marlon Brando's part therein--is also full of symbolism, as one can discern almost immediately upon watching it. There's just to much usage of light and darkness in the film for it all to be simply theatrical...simply special affects. This usage of light and dark...and of the smoke that obscures the boundary between the two...must therefore have a deeper meaning. Throughout the film Apocalypse Now, lights, darkness, and smoke are used to illustrate man's daily inner-struggle between savagery and civility.

This symbolism is presented from the very start of the film. As the scene unfolds, helicopters pass across the screen, and soon after, yellow smoke begins to fill the air. Then, suddenly, an explosion of napalm lights up the jungle, and both darkness and light seem to contend for dominance--as choking, acrid smoke and burning, bright flame--and the yellow smoke continues to rise. In the midst of this, the main character's face appears, upside-down, and faint along the flames. It's obvious that he's confused and in conflict with himself, seeming to mistake a fan's rotating blades for those of a helicopter, and even fainter than himself, an image of fog on the left and a stone statue to the right appears behind his own outline, symbolic of doubt and certainty, which also seem to contend for dominance within him. This chiriascuro of light, darkness, and smoke, in combination with wispy doubt and dense certainty, serve--almost loudly--as symbols of the battle that seems to be going on in the main character's head.

As the film progresses, more usage of this symbolism is made, especially in the last two military camps before they finally reach Kurtz's. In the first camp, everything is depicted as (for the most part), bright and sunny, save for the battlefield behind the camp, and the beach after they attack so they can surf. As time goes on, and the plan to gain the beaches progresses, things begin to steadily darken, and yellow smoke starts filling up everything when they start opening fire on those living by the beaches. This occurs in an even greater extent when things get out of hand at the second base, where the men go beserk over the trio of playboy bunnies, and their helicopter ascends, taking much of the light illluminating the base with it. At the third camp, this symbolism of darkness as synonymous with savagery and insanity is made most plain...the only light that touches the place comes from faulty lighting, heavy gunfire, or use of explosives. The place is utter chaos; as Benjamin finds out, the base doesn't even have a commander. This also represents how, as the darkness of insanity and the smoke of uncertainty grow deeper, so too does the insanity of those who dwell within them. This is reflected even in the music playing in the camp...as a great man once said about one who was insane, he "could almost hear the broken carousel going around in his head".

The contest between darkness and light--madness and sanity--is shown also while Kurtz is telling Benjamin about the time when he was in Special Forces, and a number of Viet Cong troops amputated the arms of children his group had just inoculated for polio. As he speaks, darkness falls over his face, even as he speaks, then slowly lifts, and this is repeated for some time. As he speaks of how horrified he was (at first), when this occured, his face is illuminated...but as he speaks of the supposed "genius" of the Viet Cong who'd done the deed, darkness covers his face, though his monologue continues. As he continues to praise their actions further, the darkness becomes increasingly deeper in the length in which it covers his visage, alluding to how madness is reflected in his own words. This is very obviously symbolic of the battle between darkness (insanity) and light (sanity) that has raged on through many men--including Benjamin--throughout the film. And, as well, it shows that, in the battle that raged within Kurtz, darkness is the victor...but it has yet to be seen whether this will be the case for Benjamin.

The dark-vs.-light argument is exemplified magnificently during the scene in which Benjamin butchers Kurtz, and moreso afterwards. (Confirm via film...) As he approaches his mark, his body and face are alternatingly shrouded in darkness and striped with light, representing the possibility of either sanity or insanity prevailing within him. When Kurtz notices his presence, his face is shrouded in darkness, despite the flames behind him, and Benjamin goes in for the kill. As he hacks into his victim's body, Kurtz is constantly shrouded in darkness, while Benjamin is half-illuminated, half-obscure, symbolizing that the battle within himself has yet to end. Then, when Benjamin deals Kurtz the final blow, Kurtz's head peaks out from the shadows...only to be beaten back by Benjamin's final swing. Then, when Benjamin finds the document Kurtz typed, and the page which says to anihilate everyone there, darkness covers him entirely, as if parralleling his own indecision as to whether or not he should actually do it, and his wavering towards compliance. Then, when Benjamin exits the temple, darkness and light continue to stripe his figure alternatingly, and when he finally reaches the end of the stairs, his face is at first lit up with light, before fading to half-dark as he looks upon the adoring people bowing before him. However, when he lets go of his weapon, the darkness lifts, symbolizing that his sane side has won over his insane side...that Benjamin has triumphed where Kurtz could not. Then, after taking the weird surfer guy away from the crowd, the two get onto the boat...and as the two men drift off down the river, and it starts to rain, the image from the very beginning of the film appears, this time more material than before. As it does, Benjamin's figure is much clearer, and his face is less darkened than in the beginning. Then, as the film comes to a close, Kurtz's last words are heard one more time...and the scene fades to black.

Throughout the film, darkness and light, combined with the use of smoke and fog, add a great sense of symbolism to the film and all that occurs within. The darkness of insanity, hiding truth from the mind of Kurtz, and occasionally Benjamin, can be said to be in direct connection to the smoke and fog that obscures their vision when they're traveling up the river, or in the field of battle. It meddles with reason, and opens the door to insanity. The darkness witnessed in the final camp before they reached Kurtz represents what happens when madness--represented by total darkness--takes over. The light that illuminated Benjamin at the end of the film expresses his triumph over savagery, and his refusal to destroy the base or the people within it as Kurtz had apparently wanted him to do. So, in the end, this conflict between darkness and light, though muddled by smoke, represents the conflict within sanity and madness within all people...as well as the fate of those who fall to the darkness.